Settlement in local levee dispute involves no fines

Nikki BuskeyStaff Writer

Tuesday

Feb 10, 2009 at 2:58 PMFeb 10, 2009 at 3:00 PM

HOUMA — A proposed legal settlement would spare taxpayers any fines that might have resulted if Terrebonne’s Levee Board had been found in violation of federal environmental laws.The board voted unanimously to sign off on the tentative settlement of a $24 million lawsuit filed against the district last year by a group alleging that a portion of Morganza-to-the-Gulf was built in violation of federal law.Members declined to discuss specifics of the settlement until a judge signs off on the agreement, but Berwick Duval, the Houma attorney representing the board, said the district won’t be required to pay any money.A judge could sign the settlement as early as today, Duval said.Morganza is a 72-mile system of levees, floodgates and a lock on the Houma Navigation Canal planned to protect Terrebonne and portions of Lafourche from up to a Category 3 hurricane. The project has been plagued by delays since it was conceived over a decade ago. J-1, which wrapped construction just last year, is a three-mile segment of levee in Pointe-aux-Chenes and the first Morganza segment to be completed.Save Our Wetlands, a New Orleans environmental-advocacy group, filed suit against the district in May. The suit alleges that J-1 was built without the permit required to dredge soil and fill in sensitive wetlands in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.Applying for that permit would have given the public the opportunity to comment on the work and required the district to rebuild wetlands to compensate for damage inflicted by the levee, the lawsuit contends.“If the settlement is approved, it would achieve Save Our Wetlands’ goal of providing enforceable conditions for the building of the levee and wetland mitigation,” said Jill Witkowski, deputy director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, which is representing Save Our Wetlands.Because construction of J-1 was authorized by Congress in late 2003, it triggered the need for an environmental assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in lieu of the permit in question.That 30-page environmental-assessment examined the levee project’s impact on natural resources, including fisheries, wildlife and associated habitats, any endangered or threatened species, cultural resources like American Indian mounds, recreational resources, air quality and highways. It advises the district on the steps necessary for any associated damage the project to local wetlands, including rebuilding 23 acres of marsh that would be impacted by the levee.The settlement is the result of months of meetings between the Levee District and the law clinic, Witkowski added.“It’s almost always preferable to settle these matters out of court, and both parties worked hard to achieve that goal,” Witkowski said.

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

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